Signal transmitting means



April 94 c. J. FITCH ET AL 2,195,354

SIGNAL TRANSMITTING MEANS Filed Nov. 19, 1937. I 4 Sheets-Sheet 1ATTORNEY April 2, 1940.

c. J. FITCH El AL. 95,854

.SIGNAL TRANSMITTING MEANS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 19, 1937 (4, FIG.3.

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c. J. FITCH El AL 5,854

SIGNAL TRANSMITTING MEANS Filed NOV. 19, 1937 4 Shegts-Sheet 5 \mll ill

amwf W??? S/G'IVAL TRHIVJM/TER FIG, 8}.

' ATTORNEY April 2, 1940., c. J. FITCH ET AL SIGNAL TRANSMITTING MEANSFiled NOV. 19, 1937 Y 4 SheetsSheet 4 INVENPRS ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 2,1940 SIGNAL TRANSMITTING MEANS Clyde J. Fitch and Kurt R. Schneider,Endicott,

N. Y., assignors to International Business Machines Corporation, NewYork, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application November 19, 1937,Serial No. 175,371

7 Claims.

This invention relates to signal transmitting units andmore particularlyto recording transmitting units adaptable for use in signaling systemssuch as printing telegraph systems.

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel permutationunit to control the conditioning of signal transmitting orcontrol-contacts.

The present invention is an improvement over the permutation bar signaltransmitter unit described in the copending application Serial No.113,798, filed December 2, 1936. In the said application, contact switcharms are provided to be released and conditioned by the rotatedpermutation bars.

In the present application the pivoted contact arms are dispensed withand groups of ball contacts are substituted therefor.

Another object of the present invention is to provide conductingsegments on the permutation bars to condition the associated contacts.

Still another object of this invention is to pro-'- vide means to varythe duration of the contact time between the control contacts and thecontact conditioning means.

Further objects of the instant invention reside in any novel feature ofconstruction or operation or novel combination of parts present in theembodiment of the invention describedand shown in the accompanyingdrawings whether within or without the scope of the appended claims andirrespective of other specific statements as to the scope of theinvention contained herein.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a partial sectional view ofthe recording unit. I

Fig. 2 is an exploded view of the cam=units. Certain structural featuresare exaggerated to Show clearly the normal position of certain oftheoperating elements.

Fig. 3 is asectional view of bar unit and recording unit.

Figs. 4-to 4-E are detail views of the permutation members. -T

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the control contacts. I 4

Figs. 6 and 6--A are detail views of the conducting rings.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view along the line 1-1 ofFig.5.

Fig. 8 is a circuit diagram showing one. application of the presentinvention. i

Fig. 9 is a detail view of the selector members.

the permutation Fig. 10 is a detail view of the fingers secured on thepermutation members.

Fig. 11 is a plan view of the permutation bar unit.

For illustrative purposes, this invention is shown as embodying a wellknown type of recording unit, which may be similar in construction tothe Electromatic typewriter, shown and described in detail in U. S.Patent No. 1,777,055, and hence requires only the following briefdescription.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to Fig. 1, well known meansare provided for actuating the type bars l6, comprising a constantlyrotating roller l0, cooperating with a series of individual power unitseach comprising a cam II, the engagement of the cams with the rollerbeing controlled selectively bythe character key bars l'l.

Any suitable means may be provided to rotate the power roller, in thedirection indicated by the arrow, which is adapted to cooperate with tworows of cam units arranged in the front and rear of the roller. The camIl may be provided to be pivoted on one arm of a bell crank lever l2which is pivoted in the frame of the recording unit, as indicatedgenerally by reference character iii, the other arm of the said bellcrank lever is operatively connected with an arm of bell crank lever Hby means of link l5. Another arm of the said lever I 4 is connected tothe type bars IS in a well known manner, so as to effect operation ofthe type bars or any other suitable means connected to the bell cranklevers upon selective operation of the controlling key bars li.

I The pivoted bell crank lever I2 is operated by the associated cam llwhenever the latter engages the driven roller; the engagement of the camwith the roller is controlled by means of the associated control key barI! in a manner which will now be briefly described.

Referring now to Fig. 2, the cams occupy normally thepositions as shownin this figure,'which represents oneof the. rear bank of the units. Inthis position the impeller-arm I8 is urged, by the associated coilspring l9, against one of the impeller-lugs 20, which at the time is inthe lower position, and tends to turn the cam II in a clockwisedirection. This is prevented, however, by the engagement of one of thedetents 2| on 'the cam, with the upper stop lug 22 on the stop lever 23.If, however, the corresponding key bar is operated, the bifurcated lowerend (Fig. 1) of'extension arm 24 associated with one of the said keybars I! engages an arm 25 at the upper end of the stop lever 23 which isprovided with an offset projection at its end which extends laterallythrough an opening in the bell crank lever i2. The arm 25 of the stoplever 23 is then swung rearwardly or to the left as viewed in Rig. 1about the pivot 26 and its lower end forwardly or to the right as viewedin this figure, thus releasing the cam, which then turns under theinfluence of the spring urged impeller-arm i8. In doing so the upperserrated lobe of the cam is brought into engagement with the powerroller, which turns in a counterclockwise direction and therefore causesa continued rolling movement of the cam until the high point has beenreached and passed. This causes the whole cam unit to swing around thepivot I3 so as to pull down the corresponding link and actuate one ofthe type bars or any other mechanism with which the cam unit may beconnected.

After the high point of the cam is passed the cam loses contact with theroller, but the said impeller-arm 18 tends to continue the rotationthereof by engaging the second impeller-lug 29 of cam ll until thesecond detent 21 engages one of the stop lugs. Since the half rotationof the cam consumes only a small fraction of a second, it is difficultto release the key bar within this short interval, so that it is thelower lug 28 which is first engaged, but upon the release of the key barand the return of the stop lever 23 to normal position, this lug 23disengages the detent, whereupon the impeller-arm rotates the camslightly, and the said detent then engages the upper stop lug 22.

It is obvious then that depression of a key bar releases the revolublymounted cam to engage and be actuated by the power roller in turnoperating the associated bell crank lever and its attached links tocause the associated mechanism such as the type bars and other operatingmechanisms, to be operated. It is to be understood that an individualcam unit is provided for each type bar or other functional mechanismsassociated therewith.

The action of the cam mechanism has been described with respect to oneof the rear bank of cam units; in the case of those of the forward bankthe operation is analogous, but the directions of movement, and theorder of operation of the stop lugs, is reversed. For example, if thebifurcated arm 24-a is positioned to engage the arm 25-a at the upperend of stop lever 23-41 by virtue of operation of the associated keybar, the said arm is positioned rearwardly or to the left as viewed inFig. 1, and the lower end of the stop lever 23-a is moved forwardly,that is, to the right as viewed in the said figure. This said operationis effective. to release the cam, by virtue of positioning the lowerstop lug 23a out of the path of detent 2 i-a, thus permitting thespringurged impeller arm l8-a to rotate the cam slightly in a clockwisedirection to effect engagement of the lower lobe of cam I I and powerroller. Upon completion of a half revolution of the cam H, the seconddetent 2'I-a engages first the upper stop lug 22a while the stop lever23-a is in an operated position, but upon release of the associated keybar and the return of the said stop lever to normal position, this lug22-a disengages the said detent and the impeller-arm rotates the camslightly so that the said detent then engages the lower stop lug 28-11,as shown in the figure. In this manner the bell crank lever l2'a isrotated about the pivot l3-a to operate the associated type bar or anyother mechanism associated therewith. For further structural details ofthe cam units, reference should be made to the above mentioned patent.

In addition thereto the bell crank levers are provided with extensionarms 30 (Fig, 3) depending therefrom and on which are rotatably mountedindividual cam rollers 3i which are displaced whenever the associatedbell crank levers are actuated by the released cams. The cam rollers arepositioned so as to be adapted to position or cooperate with selectormembers 32 whenever the said rollers are displaced, for a purpose now tobe set forth.

Referring now to Fig. 11, the transmitting permutation bar mechanism isshown to comprise generally a plurality of positionable permutationmembers 33 provided with keys or fingers 34 and a plurality of selectormembers 32 (Fig. 9) provided with tabs or studs 35. More specificaly, apermutation member 33 comprises a circular rod 36 provided with a flatsection 31 so that the tapered fingers 34, having correspondingly shapedopenings at the untapered section (Fig. 10) may be fitted on the saidrod thereby positioning all the fingers thereon whenever the rod ispositioned. Tubular spacings 38 are provided for accurately spacing thevarious fingers on the rods, in accordance with a selected permutationcode (Figs. 4 to 4-E) and which are arranged so that the tapered ends ofcertain of the fingers extend above and others below the rods, thepurpose of which will be understood as the description progresses.

The permutation members 33 are rotatably mounted on the end plates 33which also support a pair of grooved rods 40. The entire unit Justdescribed is pivotally mounted at 4| to the recording unit frame bymembers 42 and is adapted to be locked in an operating position by beingsecured to the said frame by suitable means indicated generally byreference character 43.

It was mentioned that a plurality or selector members 32 are providedand adapted to be engaged by the cam rollers 3i to be positionedthereby. The selectors are shown slidably mounted on the grooved rods 40and are all identical in structure. A detail of a selector member isshown in Fig. 9 and comprises similar forked or bifurcated ends 44, andat the other end thereof extensions 43 are provided and as shown in Fig.3 are supported in a position so as to be engaged by the cam rollers andthus be displaced to the right or left depending on the particular camunit selected and operated. Each selector is provided with a rectangularopening 43 so as to straddle the permutation members (Fig. 3) and alsoalong one section of the selector equally spaced tabs or studs 33 arefixed thereon, three studs on each side of the member and alternatelypositioned thereon.

The selectors 32 are slidably mounted on the grooved rods 43 and held inalinement or position by the grooves. Some of the selectors are arrangedso that the studded sections thereof are disposed above the permutationmembers 33 and others arranged so that the studded sections thereof aredisposed below the members, that is, the selectors are assembled on thegrooved rods so that the studs of some lie in a plane below thepermutation members so as to be engaged by certain of the fingersdepending from the said members, and so that the studs of others lie ina plane above the members so as to be engaged by certain of the fingersprotruding above the selectors.

The. purpose of the described arrangement is to permit the studs toengage certain of the fingers when the selectors are displaced by thepower operated cam units thereby partially rotating the engaged fingersand the rods associated with the fingers. The particular fingers andshafts rotated upon displacement of the selected selectors depends uponthe permutation code selected. The reason for alternating the positionsof the studs will now be understood, namely, so that proper clearance isprovided for the fingers attached to the permutation members, when thefingers are displaced through their angle of rotation, so that theduring said rotation studs on other selectors are not engaged by theassociated fingers fixed on the rotated shafts.

It is preferred when 'the selectors described are used in conjunctionwith the Electromatic typewriter, that the studded sections arealternately arranged to be disposed above and below the permutationmembers, respectively, due to the close spacing of the cam units;therefore, in accordance with this arrangement, it will be seen that thefront bank of cam units displace the selector members 32 to the right asviewed in Fig. 3, which are arranged so that the studs thereof engagethe fingers depending from the permutation members 33 to rotate the saidfingers and associated rods 25 in a counterclockwise direction, and thatthe rear bank of cam units displace the selectors to the left as viewedin the said figure, which are arranged so that the studs thereof engagethe fingers extending above the permutation members to rotate thefingers and associated rods in a counterclockwise direction. Upondisplacement of the permutation members and selectors provision is madeto retumthem to the normal inoperative position by means of springs 41attached to the permutation members 33 and posts 48 mounted on one ofthe end plates- 39, and the springs 49 interconnecting the adjacentselectors 32.

From the description given thus far it is understood now that byselective operation of the key bars H, the associated cams I l arereleased to engage the power roller l0 being rotated for a, halfrevolution operating the corresponding bell crank members l2 to operatethe associated type bars or other mechanisms associatedtherewith.Operation of the said bell crank members also displaces momentarily thecorresponding selectors 32 to either the right or left as viewed in Fig.3 to rotate certain of the fingers 34. engaged by the studs 35 on theselectors in a counterclockwise direction, thus causing partial .ro-

tation of the permutation members associated with the rotated fingers.Upon completion. of the rotation of the cams the displaced selectors andpermutation bars are restored immediately to the normal positions shownin the figures. It is also understood that various combinations of thepermutation members are rotated depending upon the selection of thecharacter key bars and the particular combinational code selected whichdetermines the combination of fingers actuated by the individualselectors. It is evident too that the various combinations ofpermutation members are rotated in unison when the selectors aredisplaced.

It will now be described how the displaced or rotated permutationmembers are effective to condition the signal transmitting controlcontacts employed in the known combinational code printing telegraphsystems. It is preferred to provide ball contact switches which areconditioned directly by the permutation members. The group of controlcontacts are arranged at one end of the transmitting unit as indicatedby reference character 50, and suitably mounted to the end plate 39(Fig. 11). One group of springurged ball contacts 5| (Fig. 5) aresuitably disposed in a metal housing 52 which is secured to aninsulating support member 53 fixed to the end plate 39. The said housingis positioned above the permutation members andarranged so that theindividual ball contacts 5| constantly engage the correspondingpermutation members. A common terminal (Fig. 4) is shown to be connectedto the conducting housing 52, thus providing a common connection for thesaid group of ball contacts.

A second group of spring-urged ball contacts 54 is disposed beneath thepermutation members and suitably positioned in a housing 55 of suitableinsulating material supported on guide rods 56 protruding from the endplate 39. Individual conducting sleeves 51 are inserted in the insulatedhousing 55 holding the ball contacts 54 in position. Suitable individualterminals 58 are secured to the housing and adapted to be in contactwith the corresponding conducting sleeves and springs associated withthe ball contacts. It

far refers to a preferred arrangement of the ball. I

contacts. It is obvious, of course, that the' first group of ballcontacts could bedisposed in the housing of insulating matter similarto. the housing described for the second group of ball contacts.Individual terminals could be similarly provided for the ball contactsand if desired to be connected in a common circuit, could beindividually connected to the said circuit. Such arrangements are merelya matter of choice and 3 fitted over a collar 63 of suitable insulatingmate-.

rial, fixed to the rod 36. p

Referring ,now to Fig. 5, the normal relative positions of the ballcontacts and conducting rings 6| is shown. With the permutation membersin a normal inoperative position, the cut-out sections 62 of theconducting rings iii are adapted to be in a position over the ballcontacts 54. It is preferred to arrange the said elements so that thesaid ball contacts are not in contact with either the insulating collars63 or the conducting rings 6|. With the ball contacts 5| constantlyengaging the'conducting' rings 6!, it is evident that upon rotation ofthe permutation members the corresponding conducting rings arepositioned to engage both groups of ball contacts, thus conditioning theassociated circuits connected to the ball contacts.

For example, refer to Fig. 8 showing diagrammatically the group ofcontrol ball contact switches, one group of the ball contacts 5| isshown to be connected to a common grounded battery, the other group orball contacts 54 is shown connected individually to a signal transmitter84-01! known construction employed in present day combinational codeprinting telegraph systems. The circuits associated with the individualcontacts 54 are conditioned in accordance with the operated permutationmembers.

Referring to Figs. 5 and '7, it was mentioned that the housing 55 isadapted to be selectively positioned by means of the adjusting screw59."

The effect of the positioning of said housing is to adjust the relativepositions of the ball contacts 54 and conducting ring 6|. Thepositioning of the said ball contacts determines the duration of thecontact time between the ball contacts 54 and the operated associatedconducting rings 8|. The variations in the duration of contact timeeffected is due to the nonparallel sides of the said trapezoidal shapedcut-out. As the contacts are positioned to approach the shorter parallelsides of the cut-out, the duration of the contact time is increased andvice versa. When the correct setting of the housing 55 has beendetermined, suitable spacers 65 of the proper length may be placed overthe guide rods 56 as shown in Fig. 5 so that the ball housing may berlgidy held in position by tightening the adjusting screw.

While there has been shown and described and pointed out the fundamentalnovel features of the invention as applied to a single modification, itwill be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changesin the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operationmay be made by those skilled in the art without departing from thespirit of the invention. It is the intention therefore to be limitedonly as indicated by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is as follows: I

1. In a device of the character described, a plurality of operable keybars, permutation members, means whereby said permutation members arecontrolled by said key bars, transmitting contact means controlled bysaid permutation members, and electrical conducting means disposed onthe members to condition the said contacts upon operation of the membersincluding insulating means for insulating electrically the saidconducting means from the permutation members.

2. In a device of the character described, a plurality of operable keybars, permutation members, means whereby said permutation members arecontrolled by said key bars, signaling circuits, and electricalconducting means included in said permutation members to condition thesignal circults upon operation of the members including insulating meansfor insulating electrically the said conducting means from thepermutation members.

3. In a device of the character described, a plurality of operable keybars, permutation members, means whereby said permutation members arecontrolled by said key bars, each of said members having conductingsegments disposed thereon including means to insulate electrically thesaid conducting segments from said permutation members, and individualcontact units associated with each of said members and engaged by thesaid conducting segments upon operation of the I permutation members.

4. A device of the character described comprising a plurality ofoperable key bars, permutation members, means whereby said permutationmembers are controlled by said key bars, each of said members havingconducting segments included therein including for insulating,electrically the said conducting segments from the said permutationmembers, and individual contact units comprising spring-urged contactballs associated with each of said members and engaged by the conductingsegments upon operation of the permutation members.

5. A device of the character described comprising a plurality ofoperable key bars, permutation members, means whereby said permutationmembers are controlled by said key bars, each of said members havingconducting segments disposed thereon, a section cut out of each of thesaid conducting segments, and individual contact units comprising a pairof contact members associated with each of said members, one of saidcontact members normally disposed to be positioned in the said cut-outsections of the conducting segment and means whereby the last mentionedcontact members are engaged by the conducting segments upon operation ofthe permutation members.

6. A device of the character described comprising a. plurality ofoperable key bars, permutation members, means whereby said permutationmembers are controlled by said key bars, each of said permutationmembers having a cut-out section disposed thereon, and signal controlmeans including means whereby the signal control means are conditionedby said cut-out sections upon operation of the said permutation members.

'7. A device of the character described comprising a plurality ofoperable key bars, permutation members, means whereby said permutationmembers are controlled by said key bars, conducting segments havingcut-out sections having converging sides disposed on said members,signal control contact units operated by said conducting segments uponoperation of the said members, and means to alter the relative positionsof the contact units with respect to the cut-out sections in theconducting segments to vary the duration of operation of the contactunits upon operation of the said members.

CLYDE J. FITCH. KURT R. SCHNEIDER.

v v v cEnTIFIpATE-oFpoRRE'cTIon. P-AteritNo. 2,19 51 Y i v. .c 1.Y1 E J;FITCH, ET AL.

It iehereby certified that error appears in the printed specifieationApril 2, 191 0.

.. er the 'abeve nuinberedpetent requiring. cor rection ae follows Pagel-eec- :ond column, lirie l5 claim before the wcgi-d-"To'r" insert"means-' and that the same mayeo nforni to the record 0 that the saidLetters ratenps'h uld be I e .Sig e d and sealedihis lhth day of ma A.:3.- 1 m.

Henry Van 'Arsdale' (Seal) Aqfbing Commissione; of Patents ed 'with thiscorrection therein I f the case in the Patent-Office.

